From Ben-oni to Benjamin
by Jesus' girl 4ever
Summary: The story of Joseph from Benjamin's perspective. I know, bad title. If you don't know where I got it, look it up. It's Genesis 35:18.
1. Prologue

**From Ben-oni to Benjamin**

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Prologue**

The brothers raced over the desert sands, Joseph in front as usual with Benjamin not far behind. "You beat me as always, Joseph." Benjamin panted as they slid to a stop.

"I'm older. Of course I always win."

"Joseph! Come here!"

"Yes, Father!" Joseph turned back to Benjamin. "I will be back in a minute."

"I am coming with you."

Joseph shrugged. "All right." The two walked back to the tent, where their father said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them."

"I will go." Joseph replied. Then he turned to Benjamin. "Stay safe while I am gone, little brother, okay?"

Benjamin grinned. "Okay." Joseph hugged his father and his brother before turning and walking toward Shechem. Benjamin waved at his 17-year-old brother until he disappeared from view. Little did either know that that was the last time they would see each other for 22 years.


	2. The Loss

**From Ben-oni to Benjamin**

**Chapter 1: The Loss**

Benjamin was watching for Joseph to come home. It was boring when his big brother wasn't there. Joseph made everything fun. Suddenly, he saw his other older brothers returning, but Joseph was not with them. The brothers had brought something back with them, which they took to their father. They said, "We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not."

Their father looked at it, and said with a great wail, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured it; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" Israel tore his clothes in mourning. Benjamin stood, disbelieving what he had just heard. Joseph, dead? He took off running; he didn't know where. He just needed to get out of there. He somehow made his way to their favorite place to play. There he threw himself onto the ground and just cried. How could he go on, now that his brother and best friend was dead?

Somehow, he did find the strength to go on, but it was not easy. His father mourned Joseph for a long time, but when he had finally realized that all the mourning in the world would not bring Joseph back, he immediately began doting on Benjamin. It was quite clear who was his favorite now that Joseph was gone. But the other brothers did not seem to hate Benjamin as they had Joseph. In fact, it seemed like when Joseph died, all the hate had gone out of them. It also seemed like they were grieving over Joseph, but their grief was different. It was almost like they felt guilty. Over what, Benjamin didn't know. Years passed, 13 to be exact, and though the family was never the same, it healed and went on. In the 13th year since Joseph had been gone, they had a very large harvest. "It seems as though God is blessing us, even as my father Isaac prayed of me, 'Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine.'" Jacob said in wonder as he looked out over the rich fields. They had a feast that night, and the next, and the next, and the... well, you get the idea. They had wonderful harvests for the next 6 years, but in the 8th year, a famine slowly began to creep over the land. "Father, there is no grain this year."

Jacob looked at Reuben, astonished. "None?"

"No. None."

"What are we to do, what are we to do? God, we need Your help." Weeks passed, and their food supplies ran very low. One day, Israel said to his sons, "Why are you staring at one another? Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die." So all of the brothers set out the next day for Egypt, except for Benjamin. "Father, why can't I go with them?"

"Because, Benjamin, I am afraid that something will happen to you like it did to Joseph." The pair said nothing more as they watched the brothers disappear beyond the horizon.


	3. Grain

**From Ben-oni to Benjamin**

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

**Chapter 2: Grain**

"Father! I see them! They are back!" Benjamin's voice died in his throat as he counted how many of his brothers he saw. He stopped back into the tent. "Father, there are only 9 brothers. Simeon is not there."

"What? Where is he?"

"I do not know." The brothers lifted the tent flap and came in. "Father!The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country. But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.' The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take _grain for_ the famine of your households, and go. But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.'" Reuben told his father.

"What? Yet he let you buy the grain? That is strange. Well, go take your grain to the kitchen." The boys did as their father said, Benjamin trailing them. The 9 opened their bags of grain, only to find their money inside. "What?" Judah said, astonished. He noticed Benjamin for the first time. "Benjamin, go get Father."

The now-39-year-old turned and ran back into the tent. "Father, there is something you need to see."

As soon as Israel saw the money, he said, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me."

Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him _back_ to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you."

But Jacob said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow."

* * *

Soon, the grain was gone. Their father said to them, "Go back, buy us a little food."

Judah spoke to him, however, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.' If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you do not send _him_, we will not go down; for the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"

Then Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had _another_ brother?"

But they said, "The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Have you _another_ brother?' So weanswered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"

Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him _back_ to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice."

Then their father Israel said to them, "If _it must be_ so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double _the_ money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."


	4. Joseph!

**From Ben-oni to Benjamin**

**Chapter 3: Joseph!**

When they reached Egypt, they were taken to the lord's house. The other brothers were afraid and said, "_It is_ because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys." So they came near to Joseph's house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand. We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks."

He said, "Be at ease, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. The lord of the land came at noon, and they gave him the present. He asked them about their welfare, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." They bowed down in homage. Then he saw Benjamin, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? May God be gracious to you, my son." Then the man turned and ran out of the room.

Later, when he returned, the meal was served. After they were seated, Benjamin noticed something strange. "Hey, look at this."

"What, Benjamin?" Simeon asked impatiently.

"We're in order. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and me."

"You are right, Benjamin. And," here Reuben leaned closer to Simeon and whispered, "Benjamin had five times as much food as the rest of us!"

"That is strange." However, they left with grain after staying the night. But, not long after they left, they were overtaken by the man's steward, who said, "Why have you repaid evil for good? Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this."

They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's slaves."

So he said, "Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and _the rest of_ you shall be innocent." Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city. As they returned, Benjamin whispered to Reuben, "You don't think I took it, do you?"

"No, Benjamin, but it got in there somehow, now didn't it?"

"Yes, but it was not by my hand."When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him. Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?"

So Judah said, "What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord's slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found."

But he said, "Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father."

Judah said, "Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant." He and the lord moved off, and Simeon hissed at Benjamin, "Now you really fixed it for us, didn't you?"

"I didn't take it."

Just then, the lord cried, "Have everyone go out from me." Then he started to cry loudly, and said, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" Benjamin's brothers looked aghast, but Benjamin was astonished. Could Joseph still be alive? Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer to me." And they came closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine _has been_ in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine _to come_, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished."' Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin _see_, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here." Then he hugged all of his brothers and kissed them, crying the whole time. Benjamin was happier than he had been in 22 years, and as Joseph hugged him, he said, "I've missed you."

"And I've missed you."


End file.
